The First World War
by TheOfficialPlague
Summary: Follow the experiences of Axel Lange as he works his way through the horrors of warfare in 1914. From battlegrounds ranging from France to Berlin, he attempts to keep the team he calls family alive, and keep the hostile forces from stopping the progress of the German Empire. (May contain graphic imagery and vulgar language. Based off events experienced only in Battlefield 1.)
1. Chapter 1

**August 10th, 1914.**

 **Amiens, France.**

 **As German Forces began their full annexation of France, the United Kingdom stepped in to stop their progress, in fear they may be next.**

 **This is told from the eyes of Axel Lange, a simple medic in the German Empire.**

The sound of gunfire echoed through the once-crowded city, soldiers of the German Empire and Great Britain scattered across the east and west sides of the area, each one exchanging shots at one another. Some were lucky enough where the bullet merely passed them by, and God had given them a second chance. Others did not have that luck, the flying lead projectile penetrating what little armor for a helmet protected their head, killing them instantly if positioned correctly. Around twenty percent of each of those who were shot did not make it out alive to see tomorrow, but one man was dedicated to change that for the fatherland.

" _Enemy snipers to the left! Keep your heads down!"_ One of the German soldiers yelled out to his comrades, only peeking over cover before a bullet from a British scout merely grazed his left eye, causing him to stumble over, clutching it as the shot had only left a slight burn. Another soldier rushed over to him, sliding into the same area for cover, another bullet flying right past him, only to hit a soldier behind him directly through the heart. This was Axel Lange, the medic in his small squadron tasked with holding down the west bridge that led to the German's side of the city. He stood at 6'1", weighed around 193 lbs, with lightly tanned skin. His eyes were a light brown, his hair a darker shade of the same color, almost easily mistaken to be an Italian, or an American.

" _Just stay down, make sure you are not bleeding. From your injury, I can tell you will make it out of here."_ The medic said to the soldier, placing down a small satchel of medical supplies as he quickly, but efficiently, applied a few bandages to the wound along with some disinfecting liquid, which made the burning sensation even worse. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble as the Germans encountered a much larger, stronger enemy, the British Mark V Landship.

" _Enemy tank! Fall ba-"_ A soldier began, attempting to run from his cover before it, along with him, was blown to smithereens by one of the 20mm cannons on the side of the giant tank. It began to advance slowly, the Germans having to slowly retreat as any officers in the field had ordered them to. The machine gun on the front of the landship gunned down anything it saw, the United Kingdom troops slowly pushing up through the bridge, using the behemoth of a tank as cover for them. As the English forced pushed forward, Axel came to realize that death would be near if he did not follow orders, either from his officers or the enemy troops. He grabbed the injured soldier and hauled him to his feet, soon using whatever strength he had to sprint away from the oncoming tank. The voice of German soldiers was heard from nearly all angles, especially the man he was carrying as he took five machine gun shots for the medic, falling to the ground with a thud. Axel dropped him and ran normally with the rest of his battalion, soon noticing one of the soldiers dropping what looked like a cluster of grenades. Realizing what it was, the medic picked it up and began to run towards the British Mark V, soon pulling the pins of the grenade and lobbing it in back of the tank from around the corner of a building, a hail of bullets passing him as he retracted back into cover.

" _I hope that wasn't a dud. If that is, then I'm not sure what will save us now."_ He said to himself, unholstering the semi-automatic handgun that had hung from the left of his torso, having no time to take out and load the bolt-action rifle that he had strapped to his back along with various other medical supplies. Suddenly, the ground shook harder for a second, a massive explosion going off around the corner as the light of the fire illuminated the area, and then it stopped, the medic peaking around the corner to see what had happened. The grenade was not a dud, it had taken out the treads of the Mark V and killed the soldiers behind it. The soft crackling of the fire could be heard from where Axel stood, the flames already engulfed the inside of the tank, seeping out through the new dents in the vehicle. Suddenly, the side door swung open and a British tanker hopped out, stumbling to the ground, standing up and looking right at Axel. The German man was worried for a second. This had been his first time on a battlefield and it was almost time he took someone else's life, being inches away from pulling the trigger. The British man then rushed at Axel, grabbing a severed piece of metal from the explosion and holding it up to protect him. The medic fired three shots, each shot doing nothing to the man as he was rammed against by the enemy. The man dropped the makeshift shield and grabbed Axel by his collar, winding back a punch when a sudden shot rang out and the man jerked his head back, falling over dead.

" _H-how did…"_ Axel began, soon turning to look at what had caused the shot. In one of the attic windows of the buildings that overlooked the west bridge, was a sniper, the glare of the sun against the scope clearly pointing out where he was. The man lowered his weapon and nodded to Axel, the medic returning it with a smile.

" _Danke!"_ Axel called out, waving to the man in the window.

" _Keine Ursache."_ The sniper responded, making his way down to meet Axel as the two walked back to the German lines, the other soldiers already advancing forward once more. The two began talking to each other, mostly just Axel thanking the man for saving his life from the enemy. They didn't have time to get acquainted with each other as the officers began to bark out orders to move up and secure the lines, the two of them nodding and then splitting up to join back with their respective squadrons. With this area of France secure and under German occupation, it was time that they were either stationed at one of the newer forts they had captured or moved back to Germany to await further orders.

" _Reporting in, sir. What are your orders?"_ The medic said with a slightly enthusiastic voice, saluting as he approached the Colonel that his battalion was assigned to follow.

" _Your squadron along with two others are being transferred back to Berlin. We have just received word of a possible American attack. Your orders are to have the three squads set up defenses around this location, use anything you find necessary."_ The man said, handing Axel a folded sheet of paper with a red, wax seal on the paper, the Imperial German insignia visible on the seal itself. He nodded, placing the paper into the right pocket on his blackish-grey trench coat, a uniform medics and snipers alike have worn through the war. Axel then headed off to gather the small division of men, not wanting to disobey orders from his commanding officers, which could inevitably lead to either arrest or even execution by placing him in the front lines. The medic soon met with the other two squadrons, having already gathered his own and began to speak to them.

" _Orders have arrived from Colonel Schneider, we're being relocated back to the fatherland to defend against a possible attack from the Americans. Make sure everyone has their equipment and we will move back."_ The medic called out to the group of fourteen in front of him. As they heard this, questions began to be passed around through the group.

" _Americans planning to attack us?"_ One soldier asked.

" _Apparently so. Do you think they are well armed?"_ Another replied, asking his own question.

" _I heard they had tanks just as powerful as the British, only a lot more of them."_ A third one explained to a friend of his, one of the other soldiers soon moving to silence the group.

" _Instead of worrying what they have, think of what we will have when we get there. The colonel said to use anything we think is necessary for defense, which means we may stand a chance, even if they do have one of those tanks."_ The man said. Axel noticed who it was and simply stood back and listened with a smile. This was the sniper who saved his life just a few minutes ago, Adalbert Wissenaug, possibly the smartest, most proficient sniper in the entire battalion. He stood at 6'3", his suntanned skin barely showing behind his uniform apart from his face, and his green eyes which brought attention to his face, which possessed a scar across his mouth from previous battles.

" _Wissenaug is right. The colonel did give us that permission."_ Axel added, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against a supply crate.

" _Now, let's move out, we are burning daylight."_ Adalbert finished, grabbing his Gewehr 98 MA as he headed towards one of the jeeps that had been waiting for them. Axel did the same, making sure the Selbstlader M1916 AR was still strapped to his back and loaded. The other soldiers of the squadrons made sure to gather their weapons and equipment before loading into the trucks, already speeding off back to Berlin, leaving Amiens behind, most of them glad to be going back home. The only thing that will change about the battle, Axel and Wissenaug will be on the receiving side of the attack, against a larger, possibly more trained battalion of American soldiers.


	2. Chapter 2

**August 12th, 1914**

 **Argonne Forest**

 **On their way to Germany, Axel's squadron had to proceed on foot through the dense forest, not already knowing they were already behind enemy lines of the impending American attack.**

The three squadrons of five walked together as one, their weapons in hand just in case they ran into any enemies along the way to their destination, they soon stopped as Axel gave them orders to halt, everyone taking cover almost instantly.

" _I could not have been the only one to hear that, right?"_ He asked, looking back from one of the fallen logs Axel had ducked behind. The team was completely silent. Suddenly, a voice was able to be heard, two of them, along with approaching footsteps.

" _...So, then I told the guy how stupid his idea was. I mean, trying to even suppress enemy fire with a single pistol, especially an M1911, it's just- How can people be that stupid?"_

" _I wonder the same thing sometimes, it's almost like what Bruce did. He really thought picking at that tripwire was a good idea. 'Oh, don't worry guys, I can disarm it.' Pfft. What a moron."_

Americans, two of them. Axel gestured over to Wissenaug, pointing to a light, but fairly large bush for him. The sniper nodded and moved over to it, soon slowly stepping inside and using it as camouflage, only the bayonet of his rifle protruding outward from the shrubbery. The medic began to quietly order the soldiers to take different positions, each with their own advantages with other medics and snipers on the ridges to the left and all the assault troopers in front with him. Each began to slowly move forwards, stopping again in different cover as the two Americans soon walked by. Everything was silent, except the two patrolling men.

" _And did you see Jeremy's rifle during that last firefight? Thing practically fell apart as he fired the fir-"_ As the first soldier spoke, one of the German soldiers used his bayonet and jabbed it into his back, straight through his heart. The second american turned around to face the attacking soldier, raising his weapon but had a combat knife jab him in the throat before he could get a shot. A second German soldier, another medic, killed him seemingly with no trouble at all.

" _Good, now, keep moving. There maybe more ahead."_ Wissenaug said to the other snipers, making sure his bayonet was securely fastened to his Gewehr 98 MA, checking to see if all five rounds were loaded as well. Axel didn't check his weapons, just advancing forwards as he slowly drew an officer's sabre that he had stolen from a dead British cavalry soldier during previous battles. They soon came to a sudden, steep slope down to a series of bunkers, each of them, along with the surrounding area, practically filled with American soldiers. Axel gestured for the team to group up with him each of the soldiers quietly sneaking over to him.

" _We are all going to die if we rush in there blindly. They have us outnumbered, outgunned, pretty much better than all of us in every way."_ One soldier said, setting his pump-action shotgun down on the ground, still staying in place as he looked over to the other members.

" _You think we don't already know that? We need a plan, now. Every second we sit here, we are just target practice for those guys!"_ A sniper whispered to the small team, propping his rifle against a few nearby rocks. __

" _Give me a second to think, maybe I can figure something out."_ Wissenaug replied to the worried soldiers, everyone except Axel that was. To the medic, this guy was a genius, probably because he was drafted before he could get his PhD in physics. Axel, along with the other soldiers, did not know that at the time.

" _I have a plan, although it is just to give Wissenaug some time."_ Lange said, the rest of the team looking towards the medic with hopeful expressions.

" _We'll split up into two teams, Support and Assault. Assault team will be with me, we'll clear the way and cause a distraction for Support team. Support team, you'll be lead by Wissenaug and be perched up on the ridges, picking off anyone in case we need some extra assistance."_ He explained, drawing out a small 'game plan' in the dirt, everyone gathering around to see.

" _You will need a real explosive entrance, catch them off-guard."_ One of the soldiers said with a smile, gesturing to the AT Rocket Gun that he had strapped to his back along with the dynamite that he had packed. Axel nodded at the idea, of course planning a backup plan just in case things decide to go south all of the sudden. Within a few minutes of extra planning and quiet discussion, the two teams split up and began to take their positions, Wissenaug leading the small squadron of snipers with one medic and one assault trooper. Axel led his team of assault troopers and support gunners quietly into position at the beginning of the barbed wire barricade that surrounded the bunkers. The soldier with the small packages of dynamite began to lay the explosives under the barricades and soon rush backwards into cover, joining the snipers on the ridge as he mounted the Rocket Gun by digging its bipod into the dirt.

" _Remember, keep your heads down when they start firing back."_ Axel reminded his team as they all nodded, support gunners lined in front while assault troops stood in back of them, ready to charge in when the barricade was destroyed. Surely enough, the rocket fired off from the ridge slammed against one of the bunkers, the impact breaking off bits of concrete and kicking up dust as the snipers began to pick of soldiers one by one. The alarm began to sound, signaling that they were under attack, and that is when the Assault team rushed in, guns blazing, letting out a war cry as they marched over the barricade which had exploded as soon as the Rocket Gun was fired. Axel stayed silent, rushing to cover and occasionally peeking up and gunning down one target, his team finishing them if he only lightly injured or grazed an enemy.

" _Snipers, focus fire on anything explosive!"_ Wissenaug called out from the gunfire as soon the soldiers began to fire their K-bullets, the armor piercing rounds igniting any fuel tanks near groups of enemies and having them explode. The small firefight continued until four Americans suddenly tossed away their guns and threw their hands up in surrender. This was at first a surprise, only two of the enemies being shot before Axel realized they were giving up.

" _Feuer aufhören! Feuer aufhören! Sie haben sich ergeben!_ " He yelled to them in German, the Americans not knowing what to do as they heard him speak in his natural language. The medic was telling them to cease fire, explaining they were surrendering. He pointed his Selbslater M1916 AR towards the two, shouting out commands in broken, but still understandable, English.

" _Hands behind heads! Turn and look at wall!"_ Axel spoke as the snipers regrouped with the other seven. The two soldiers did as told, each one having an assault trooper bind their wrists together behind their back with rope and then pushing them against one of the broken concrete walls of a bunker. Axel and Wissenaug instructed the soldiers to escort them, only to make sure they don't try anything stupid. To the medic's and sniper's surprise, one of them did. One soldier kicked one leg back, breaking one of the German soldier's knees as the other tackled him, pinning him down, holding a knife to his throat. The other soldier attempted to make a run for it, quickly dashing into a bunker, only to have a bullet from Wissenaug's Gewehr strike him in the back of the head as he entered the doorway.

" _Stellen Sie sicher, dass der letzte in Berlin eingesperrt ist."_ The sniper said to Axel, basically explaining that the surviving soldier was to be imprisoned on arrival to their destination. The assault trooper holding the knife to the American's throat said nothing as he stood and picked him up by the collar, tossing him aside as a support gunner nailed him in the cheek with the stock of his light machine gun. The American dropped, spitting on impact with the wooden part of the weapon, looking up at Axel, who was just standing there, a bit surprised.

" _You're all just a bunch of blind idiots, ya know that? Every last one of you will be killed when my team comes to save-!"_ The American started, being interrupted by Wissenaug as he stepped on his shin to shut him up, the soldier yelling out a small yelp of pain.

" _No one knows you live. No one comes."_ The sniper said with a near-perfect English accent, soon heading off with the rest of his team. Axel helped the American up, looking at his dog tags as he noticed the sun reflect off them for a quick second. He lightly lifted the tags up to read them, reading them to make sure he remembers the name.

" _Chris… Jackson. Chris Jackson. You are American?"_ He asked, looking up at him being one inch shorter, with a blank expression. The American nodded, staying completely silent as the German stood in front of him.

" _Chris is short for Christopher. Which do you prefer?"_ Axel asked another question, just trying to be friendly before escorting him off on their set path to Berlin.

" _I just prefer Chris, it's shorter for you fuckin' Germans to understa-"_ Before he can finish again, Axel delivered a hard slap to his face, his expression still blank.

" _Cleaner mouth, please. Here, use when we arrive."_ The medic handed him a bar of soap, kept in a small, yellow box, putting it between his wrists that were currently bound. The rope seemed tighter for Chris now that the box was between his wrists, but he tried not to show that he was uncomfortable. The team of fifteen Germans kept on their path, each of them taking turns with making sure Chris also stayed on the path. During one of the other medic's turn to watch, he turned to him with a sarcastic smile.

" _Du bist ein Amerikaner, nicht wahr? Solltest du nicht gut mit Geschützen und Kämpfen sein?"_ The medic asked, Chris looking more confused than ever, Axel holding in a laugh just seeing his expression.

" _Does it look like I speak your damn language, bud?"_ Chris responded with a slightly disgusted tone, Axel turning to translate.

" _He asked if you are American. He said, Americans are good with guns and fighting."_ The medic explained to him, looking back to another sniper who added in another sarcastic remark.

" _Von dem Aussehen, kann er nicht einer sein."_ The rest of the team laughed at the statement, Chris just stood there, still walking with them as he looked around at the Germans, still more confused than a private on the frontlines of war.

" _What'd you guys say? It's not like I'm going to suddenly start speaking lederhosen."_ The American said, slightly agitated.

" _It is German. Lederhosen is clothes none of us wear often."_ Wissenaug corrected him, looking back for a second with a smile before turning back to look where he was going.

" _We wear uniforms. Can you see?"_ Axel said, gesturing to his dark grey trench coat, the other German soldiers doing the same, only each person looking different. The assault troopers looked like common soldiers, only a darker grey uniform with their insignia on the helmet and left shoulder. The support gunners had a similar uniform, only a bit longer and a bit more armor on it. The sniper and medic pretty much had the same uniform, dark grey trench coats with their insignias on the left shoulder and helmet. The American did nothing but think to himself as he secretly admired the uniforms.

" _Damn, I wish I was wearin' one of those. Those uniforms look awesome…"_ He suddenly snapped back into reality, looking away from the uniforms that looked much better than his.

" _So, how long 'till we arrive at… Where we goin' again?"_ He questions the Germans, raising an eyebrow.

" _Berlin."_ One of the other snipers told him, not bothering to look back at the man. Chris sighed, not knowing how much more he'd have to walk.

" _Guessin' that we're gonna be on this trail a while…"_

 **Message from the Author:**

 _Hey guys, it's me, TheOfficialPlague. So, I was wondering how you all were enjoying the story so far. Leave a review and tell me if I need to work on anything, or even if you would like a chance to see your OC in the story as well. Of course I have a full template ready so just send me a private message in case you have any questions or want to submit an OC. For characters, please keep ranks below officer and keep all equipment World War I themed. Anyways, before I get going, only thing I ask is that you share this with friends and possibly leave a few reviews, I want to hear how the story is going for you guys. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**August 13th, 1914**

 **German Chateau/Ballroom used as a supply depot**

 **Upon the three squadrons' arrival, they attack was only just beginning with the first wave of infantry rushing towards the walls of the Chateau, all of which were gunned down by German machine gun emplacements. This cleared a way for the small team to enter with their one prisoner.**

Axel and Wissenaug's squadrons along with their prisoner, Christopher Jackson, entered the walls of the elegant, but heavily fortified, outer wall of the ballroom chateau, all of the soldiers gathering to meet them. One of the higher-ranking officers stepped forward, shaking the hands of the two 'officers' that lead the other thirteen soldiers.

" _Guten Abend, Soldaten. You must have gone through quite a bit to get here. Please, make yourself at home… A larger, open, fortified home."_ The man said, nodding to them. This was Colonel Krause, the only officer in the area who commanded the troops and instructed them on what to do, along with participate as a scout in battle.

" _Danke, Colonel. Also, is there somewhere we can put the American?"_ Axel asks the man, gesturing backwards as around four other soldiers stepped to the side, revealing Chris, two other pushing him forward. The soldier straightened his back as one of the German soldiers shouted towards the American.

" _Rede den Obersten mit Respekt, Amerikaner!"_ The assault trooper shouted, Chris looking at him and rolling his eyes, looking back to the colonel, looking up a bit, the German officer being two inches taller than him. Chris then spit on the officer's uniform, the saliva landing on his shoulder. Krause brushed it off with his hand and then backfisted Chris across the face, making him stumble over and fall onto the ground.

" _Agh! Shit, that hurt! Did ya really have to do tha-"_ Chris began before the Colonel already began walking off as one other soldier kicked the American in the stomach, the two that pushed him forward picking him up and then following behind Krause, the officer leading them to a small prison area they had ready in case they did manage to take prisoners.

" _You will stay in here until further notice, enjoy your stay, prisoner."_ Krause said to Chris with a near-perfect English accent, similar to Wissenaug. As he finished his sentence, the two other soldiers tossed Chris in, shutting and locking the barred door behind him. The three then went back to talk to Axel and Wissenaug, as the other soldiers had taken their posts in case of any other attacks.

" _So, you two, your names, please?"_ He asked with a slightly blank expression.

" _Axel Lange, and this is.."_ The medic started, the sniper soon interrupting, knowing he's able to introduce himself.

" _Adalbert Wissenaug, sir. It is a pleasure to meet you."_ He nods towards the higher-ranking soldier with a warm smile, setting his rifle in his lap as he began to polish off the wood, cleaning it up a bit. The three were already just beginning a conversation when one of the scouts on the wall shouted down to the Colonel.

" _Sir, I think I see enemy snipers in the distance! About five hundred-"_ The soldier began, a small cracking noise being heard as a shot whizzed past his head, only lightly skimming his helmet with a tinging sound. The scout pulled out his binoculars, eyeing where the shot came from.

" _Forget what I said. Definitely enemy snipers! Three hundred meters out!"_ He called out, another allied scout hearing him and firing off an orange flare into the air. The rest of the base went into a frenzy, soldiers rushing to their positions and practically lining the wall that faced west, weapons mounted on the side.

" _Awaiting orders to open fire, sir!"_ One support gunner yelled to the Colonel.

" _Don't wait for my order, kill those Americans! Fire until your weapons overheat!"_ Krause yelled back, turning to Axel and Adalbert, gesturing to their weapons and then to the wall.

" _I expect that you will put those to good use. Get up there and help them!"_

" _Yes, sir!"_ Both said in unison, rushing over to the marble stairs that lead up to the wall, soon arriving and going right to work with opening fire, although Adalbert had a different idea. The scout began to collect the sniper rifles of the supply crates over in the ballroom itself, soon rushing over to the wall and placing the rifles in different places with a small ammunition box for each one. Axel set up his medical station, making sure to treat any injuries that the soldiers had received, either from a bullet merely soaring past them and leaving a light burn to soldiers who actually had been struck by a bullet.

" _Keep firing! Make sure they know who they are messing with!"_ Krause screamed out, grabbing his personal rifle, an SMLE MK III MA, lining up and firing the perfect shot to take out some of the snipers. Meanwhile, Christopher had just been working on making a lockpick of a small pin that had been left on the floor, attempting to break out of the small prison. The first attempt failed, which alerted one of the guards there, who kicked the door and shoved his bayonet through it, having it inches from Chris' forehead.

" _Back! Or I will end you! Last warning, American!"_ He exclaimed to the man, Chris backing up with a mischievous smile.

" _Alright, alright, I won't do anythin' stupid. I promise on my life."_ The American soldier said, crossing his heart with one finger as he stepped back a bit more.

" _You have no life here. Do not get hopes high."_ The second German soldier said, smirking and chuckling at his own remark, leaning against the wall behind him. He began to whistle a tune to himself, unable to hear it over the gunfire of the outer walls. Meanwhile at the wall, the German empire had already pushed back the next wave of attacking forces, soon having a few other soldiers set up mortar teams spread out on the western barrier as well. Axel and other medics began to patch up wounds of the different soldiers, all of which had some injury, but many decided to just walk it off.

" _Hey, Adalbert."_ Axel started. " _What exactly was your plan there, apart from sniping, that is?"_

" _Well, it's just in case I have to single-handedly do most of the work while defending this munitions depot. See, the way my plan works is more like a hit-and-run style of fighting."_ The marksman began, explaining to the medic his entire plan, which seemed almost too perfect, if he managed to pull it off.

" _See, many of the American soldiers expect snipers to never be that close to some of the other assault troopers, but that is my plan, use that to our advantage. From that position…"_ He pointed to a small sniper's nest on the corner of the West and North walls. " _...I begin normal sniping until I am spotted, or I exhaust my ammunition. Then, I can easily run across the wall, past the others, and take a sniping position in the middle and continue firing from there."_

" _So, you plan on making yourself seem like you are everywhere at once? I have to say, that is really clever."_ Axel commented, soon reloading his rifle and then strapping it to his back. " _If I was a sniper, I'd probably do the same thing, only when in a smaller group, not an entire team of well-trained soldiers."_

The German infantry kept on high-alert in case of any more American attacks, but as night approached, many soldiers began to doze off, one of them being Adalbert, who fell asleep next to his scoped Gewehr, which was propped up on the bipod while on the floor. Axel couldn't sleep, thoughts kept swirling in his head as he was contemplating different things at once. He questioned whether enlisting in the military was such a good idea, especially after learning that the common soldier lived only six weeks from the commanding officer back in Amiens. Just as he was thinking, back at the small prison cell, Chris caught the two guards dozing off, managing to lockpick the door, unlocking it quietly. He then counted to three before kicking the metal, barred door as hard as he could, swinging it open as it slammed against the first guard, breaking his nose, causing him to stumble over in pain, clutching his face. The second guard turned to see what had happened, about to raise his weapon before the American took a knife from his boot and stabbed it into the guard's neck, the German letting out a small yelp before impact with the blade. Shouting could be heard as the Colonel ran around the corner of the ballroom, looking towards the area Chris was in and then pointing, barking out some order.

" _Da ist er! Festhalten Sie ihn sofort!"_ The Colonel shouted out before around ten soldiers rushed around the corner all of which with their own weapons in their hands. Three support gunners, five assault troopers, and two other medics had lined up and began firing at Chris. He instantly grabbed the rifle from the now dead guard that attempted to stop him and slid into cover, making sure the weapon was loaded as the bullets from the German soldiers flew around him from all directions. Suddenly the firing stopped, and Chris put down the automatic rifle, peeking over a few crates to see what was going on. Suddenly, Colonel Krause leapt over the crates, an officer's sabre raised over his head, slashing at Chris, who backed up just in time, the blade only grazing, but still cutting his cheek. The man advanced forward, still swinging as Chris used the rifle to block the attacks, attempting to fire at him before the weapon was kicked from his hands, followed by a devastating kick to his knee, almost breaking it. Clearly, Colonel Krause was stronger than expected. He stopped attacking for a second, which allowed Chris to draw his knife, twirling it to attempt to show off.

" _Good 'ol fashion sword fightin', eh? I'll have ya know I was the best in my class when it came to fencin'."_ The American said as the German taking a more aggressive stance, one that would normally be used by normal swordsmen back in medieval times.

" _And I will have you know that I won the fencing tournament three years in a row."_ The colonel said with a smirk, already ready to strike. Chris began to back up a bit, dropping his knife and putting his hands up in a surrendering motion.

" _Okay, ya know.. I choose life, fuck that. Nope. Didn't sign up for this shit.."_

" _Lock him in again. This time, make sure his hands are bound behind his back."_ Krause said to the soldiers, all of which he contributed to beating and then tossing Chris back into the cell, this time blocking the door with a few crates, just enough to keep it from budging. The colonel then walked back to the smaller group of soldiers who were already sleeping on wool mats in the ballroom, Axel and Adalbert being amongst them, only with Axel staying awake.

" _Colonel. Is the American giving us too much trouble? If so, we can just.."_ The medic began, soon stopping as the officer sat down, leaning against the wall behind him.

" _No need. He is pretty much useless to us anyways. I will find out what to do with him soon enough, until then, he stays alive and we use him for information."_ He responded, sighing as he rested his head against the marble wall.

" _Do you think we'll see the end of this war, Sergeant Lange?"_ He suddenly asked after a long pause, both of them still awake, unable to go to sleep, simply staring at the ceiling.

" _As long as I am alive, I'll do my best to keep any comrade of mine around me alive."_ Axel said, soon beginning to finally doze off and fall asleep, Colonel Krause, however; just sat there and made sure nothing else attempted to attack the resting soldiers, still thinking of what to do with their American prisoner.


	4. Chapter 4

**August 14th, 1914**

 **German Chateau/Ballroom**

 _ **Death Chapter**_

 **As the Germans held their position against multiple American attacks, Axel's and Adalbert's teams had been ordered to move to the outside courtyard for safety along with a significant advantage in case of any more firefights breaking out.**

Axel sat near one of the mounted machine gun emplacements, his medical box right beside him as he hummed a common folk song to himself, cleaning off his semi-automatic rifle, especially his bayonet. The others who sat near the medic were rolling wooden dice and gambling for bullets, with each of them using the same caliber, it really didn't matter who got what ammunition. Adalbert and his team were practicing with their bayonets, seeing how they were more accustomed to long-range combat, they needed to practice close-range as well, or else they would be sitting ducks just waiting to be assaulted. The prisoner, Christopher Jackson was still with them, being watch by three other soldiers who carried on a conversation with each other, not paying much attention to the American.

" _Was planen Sie nach dem Krieg?"_

" _Ich bin nicht sicher. Vielleicht öffnen Sie ein allgemeines Warenlager."_

" _Das klingt nett! Vielleicht könnte ich etwas von dir kaufen."_

" _Wenn ich von Nahrung spreche, werde ich hungrig."_

The last soldier that spoke turned to the American, nudging him with the back of his rifle, waking Chris from a nap that he had been taking.

" _Huh? Wha- What'd you guys wake me up for?"_

" _Tragen Sie irgendwelche Rationen auf Ihnen? Ich bin am Verhungern!"_ The American just sat there, confused as always. Before he could even respond, the German soldier cut in again, this time asking him in English.

" _You carry rations? I hunger."_ He says to Chris, the American understanding him perfectly now.

" _Ah, I see what ya mean now. Yeah, I carry some food wit' me, just gotta let me outta these rope cuffs first."_ Chris replied to the man, the German soon turning to his comrades and carrying a small conversation. They didn't want to risk him being a threat to the team, so they shook their heads and ordered him to turn around, they decided it was best to search his pockets and bags and take the food themselves. Chris then waited a few minutes and then turned around, attempting to headbutt one of the soldiers, only to his luck, the soldier still had his metal helmet on.

" _Agh! Shit! Why'd I think that'd work?"_ He asked himself, stumbling over and tripping over a loose pile of empty shell casings from slamming his head against a metal helmet. The German soldier stood there for a second, contemplating what had just happened and then bursted out laughing, the other two who were with him joined as well.

" _Es sieht so aus, als hätte Adalbert recht, der Amerikaner ist ein dummkopf!"_ The man said, still laughing, soon walking over to Axel, tossing him a small MRE food ration, the medic nodding to him with a small smile. He looked over towards Chris, the other two soldiers now regaining their composure and going back to discussing something with each other. Chris looked over to Axel, the medic waving sarcastically as he began to eat what had been in the small packet, which was just a mix of rice, corn, and green beans. The American scowled at him, calling out to the sergeant.

" _Just you watch! I'mma get outta here, come back wit' my buddies and kick your ass! Every last one of ya!"_ He yelled out in anger, the other two soldiers not really caring, or just not paying attention, when really it was a combination of both. Axel merely laughed to himself, soon looking over to Wissenaug, who was currently writing something on a piece of paper. The medic then stood, walking over to the sniper and looking over his shoulder, wanting to know what he writing. To Axel's surprise, Wissenaug was just practicing trigonometry equations, mainly just the velocity and path of bullets and including all the variables to guarantee him the perfect shot every time in realistic situations.

" _Can I help you with something?"_ Adalbert asked, turning to Axel, setting down the piece of paper and pencil as he looked at the medic with a raised eyebrow.

" _Hm? Oh, no, I was just looking to see what you were doing, it seemed interesting."_ He responded, taking a step back as Adalbert turned and stood up.

" _Well, I am glad to see someone else has at least some appreciation for advanced mathematics and calculus."_ The sniper said with a confident smile. Inside Axel's head, he was lost, he had no idea what any of those formulas and numbers meant, apart from the formula for gravity, which he slowly put piece by piece together on what the other numbers were.

" _Anyways, what do you think of this whole war, Lange? Do you think it's even worth fighting for?"_ He asked the medic, who was still trying to put the pieces of the mathematical equations together. Axel snapped out of his little daydream and looked over at Wissenaug, shrugging.

" _I really don't know. Most of the world is pointing the blame at us. I'm relatively certain that is a bad thing."_ He responded, soon Chris yelled over to the two.

" _Course it's your fault, ya jerries! May as well just give up now!"_

" _Wait.. He can understand us?"_ Adalbert asked Axel, soon reaching for his sniper rifle, pulling back the bolt and making sure that there was already a round loaded inside. The two then saw the American look over to one of the other soldiers and talk to him for a second, who then turned back to Axel and Adalbert.

" _Just got ya friend here to translate, bud. I ain't gonna be speaking your language any time soon."_ Chris repeated, leaning back a bit with a confident smirk as the sound of approaching tank treads filled the air, very faint but slowly getting louder. It was soon followed by gunfire, a few rifles going off and then two landship cannons. The Americans were attacking once more.

" _Another attack! Axel, take your men and set up for an attack at the flank! I will go to the Colonel and see if my marksmen and I can keep them back."_ Adalbert called out, his squadron all grabbing their rifles and quickly sprinting towards the chateau, of course lead by the sniper. Axel nodded and took up his rifle, ordering one of the support gunners to go with Wissenaug. As the man soon joined the other squad, he explained to him that Axel requested that he join them, as the snipers could use ammunition more than just another sniper. He happily obliged, soon making a dead sprint over to Axel's squadron, the Americans spotting him and beginning to open fire.

" _Just making my job so much more difficult!"_ He yelled out to himself, making sure to weave in and out as some of the bullets grazing his coat as he joined the medic, the seven already under enemy fire, eight counting their prisoner.

" _So, have you all began firing or just taking cover?"_ Wissenaug asked, loading his rifle as he peeked over, aimed down his sights, and easily picking off one enemy sniper, pulling back the bolt of the rifle to eject the casing and then slamming it forward again to load in another shot.

" _We've been trying, it's difficult when they have so many machine gunners!"_ Axel called back, peeking over and instantly pulling back as a large tank shell flew over them, slamming into the ground behind them, kicking up dirt as it exploded. They were all too busy with making sure they don't get hit, Chris began to take off running, laughing to himself, only cut short as Adalbert then fired off a shot and it struck his shoulder, causing him to lurch forward and fall onto the ground in pain, however he was not dead. Soon, the small group began to return more fire, successfully diverting most the aggression towards the chateau since they were more than capable of defending themselves. Axel continued firing, his weapon soon jamming, hearing a click as he pulled the trigger, what he thought was that he was out of ammunition.

" _I'm out of ammo! Anyone have another magazine?"_ He called out, Adalbert dropping his sniper and grabbing Axel's rifle.

" _What are you-"_

" _Trust me, you are not out of ammunition."_ He explained to the medic, pulling back the hammer of the weapon a few times and getting the jammed casing out, soon aiming towards the American assault team. He fired off the remaining shots, five shots, killing four soldiers and then handing it back to Axel.

" _Now you are out of ammunition.."_ Adalbert explained as he picked up his rifle once more and began to slowly pick off attacking forces from behind cover. One of the support gunners in their squadron placed down an ammunition pack for everyone to use, only taking a few seconds as he went back to firing away, only to have a bullet nearly skim past his left ear, ducking down and taking that time to reload. Axel took an extra magazine from the ammunition box, loading it into his rifle and continuing to fire away at the attacking Americans. Chris, however; already out of sight, having crawled behind a bush, waited patiently until an American landship rolled between him and the other Germans, taking aim with its cannon and firing off a shot, only one of the soldiers, a support trooper dying to the spread of the metal ball bearings that were loaded in instead of an average explosive shell. Soon, Axel's squadron turned their attention towards the large tank, Wissenaug taking an anti-tank grenade and calculating the perfect throw in his mind. He then tossed it directly under one of the tracks, dislocating it and shutting down the cannon with it.

" _Excellent throw! Soldiers, advance!"_ Axel called out, the soldiers all standing and rushing towards the tank, Chris still behind the tank as cover, a recruit cutting him free and then handing him a C96 Carbine, taking a fragmentation grenade from his pocket and lobbing it over the tank towards the Germans. As the grenade landed, Axel kicked it back towards the tank, the explosive detonating as it bounced off the top of the already-damaged landship, no one injured. The American recruit peeked out from cover, Wissenaug drawing his Luger P08 and firing off a single shot, striking the American's helmet and killing him. Chris then took a grenade of his own and chucked it towards the squad. Before it can leave at least five meters, an assault trooper caught it and threw it directly back at Chris, the explosive detonating between the two. Both stumble back, Chris raising the small carbine he was given and firing two shots, both rounds hitting the German man, killing him only on the second. Within thirty seconds, a support gunner ran around the other side of the tank, taking the back of his weapon and catching Chris off-guard, bashing it against his cheek, before he could finish off the American, a sniper had already picked him off from the main attack force. The others kept advancing, Wissenaug then turning to face him, scowling as he took aim at the American, soon dropping his rifle and then putting up his fists, Chris doing the same. The two walked towards each other, fists clenched and ready for combat.

" _I'll be sending ya home in a wooden box, Jerry. Tell your comrades ya won't be returning to 'em?"_ Christopher said sarcastically as he cracked his knuckles with a smile. Adalbert returned the grin, unclenching his hands and gesturing for the American to attack first.

" _My name is Adalbert Wissenaug, American. Also, I believe I will finally earn my PhD, besting an American in combat."_ He said, grinning to himself as he gestured for Christopher to attack him first. To this, he happily obliged, rushing towards Wissenaug with a fist reeled back, ready to throw a punch. As Chris let his first attack soar forward, Adalbert redirectly the attack across his body and then delivered a quick jab in the face, his knuckles striking the American's cheek, right below his eye, causing Chris to stumble back a bit, surprised.

" _It seems my studying abroad in Japan paid off."_ The German said with a confident smirk, getting into a basic Judo defensive position. Clearly, Christopher was pissed, rushed towards Adalbert, throwing a series of hook punches from almost every direction. Each of the attacks was either blocked, redirected, or dodged, giving Adalert easy openings to land a few good hits on his target. From Chris' rage, he manages to land at least two punches in his left cheek, at least one knee strike to the chest, followed by an elbow to the back of the head, and then a quick, but effective, kick to the upper chest, sending him backwards again. The American spit over to the side, a bit of blood being seen as he did so, soon advancing forwards again and reeling back another punch. As Adalbert was ready to avoid the punch, Christopher then sent it forward, stopping early as his other hand went around and slugged the German in the bridge of the nose, moving to the side, nearly breaking it. Adalbert just went with the momentum of the punch, still staying on his feet.

" _Who needs fancy Japan fightin' when ya got good ol' American boxin'?"_ Chris said, rushing towards Adalbert again, the German already in a defensive position already. Chris swung first again, only as Adalbert went to counter, the American blocked it, trying to counter him as well. The two exchanged punches, none of which fully landed for around ten seconds before Adalbert decides to perform another move, catching Chris' arm and then quickly twisting it while simultaneously sweeping out his feet, flipping him in the air and making him land on his back. The German then went down to deliver a jab to his face again, only Chris rolled out of the way onto his feet again as Adalbert's fist pounded against the dirt. The German was the one on the offensive now, sprinting at Chris and then side-kicking towards his stomach, landing the hit perfectly. As his leg pulled back, it swung to the side and then back towards Christopher, sending a kick to his temple, and causing him to nearly fall unconscious, stumbling around for a second before regaining his balance. Adalbert then swung again, the two going right back to exchanging punches before Chris drew a knife from one of his pockets, the blade actually originally holstered behind him. The American rushed forward, continuously slashing at Adalbert, the German backing up in fear of getting either cut or stabbed. The German continued to avoid the knife before seeing that Chris attempted to bring the knife down from overhead, Adalbert directing the knife directly into his knee, Christopher screaming out in pain, holding his knee as he began to back up. Wissenaug saw an opening and then sent a kick into the hilt of the knife sending it deeper into Chris' knee and snapping it so that it bent backwards. Adalbert waited a while, approaching Chris who was currently fumbling for a grenade, pulling the pin and attempting to throw it, having it land in front of Wissenaug, who wasn't that far away. The German quickly kicked it back to him, Christopher rolling out of the way as it detonated, slowly standing, in pain thanks to his now-broken leg.

" _I expected more from an American like you. I honestly did. But, I still question whether to be surprised…"_ As Adalbert began to speak, we walked back a few steps, picking up his Gewehr 98 MA, fixing the bayonet on it with a blank expression. The German then firmly gripped the rifle by the barrel and the beginning of the stock, soon breaking into a sprint as he raised the rifle near his face, building up a war cry as he then attempted to drive the steel bayonet into Chris, who caught the weapon by the barrel, incredibly close to Wissenaug's hand, the bayonet inches away from his chest. Adalbert kept trying to drive the sharpened steel closer and closer to Chris, the American making a good effort to stop him, but unfortunately unable to hold on, his efforts went to waist. The sniper ripped the weapon to the side, leaving a large gash in Christopher's arm as he did so, repositioning the bayonet again and then driving it into his upper chest, pushing with all the strength he had to make sure it killed him quickly. Chris' eyes widened on impact, looking up as he fell to the ground on one knee, Wissenaug still having not removed the blade yet. The German then pulled back the bolt of the rifle, loading in a single bullet before slowly pushing it forwards and locking it into place.

" _Last words? If you can manage any, that is."_ The sniper asked, his hand tightening around the handle of the rifle, finger nearing the trigger. Christopher let out a small smile and spit up blood onto the rifle and Adalbert's uniform. With absolutely no hesitation, the sniper pulled the trigger, firing the round into Chris' neck, the sheer force of the bullet causing him to fall from the bayonet and hit the ground, dead.

 **Allied Character: Chris Jackson, 1890-1914**

 **With the death of Chris by the hand of Adalbert Wissenaug, the sniper returned to his squadron, cleaning off his bayonet, to aid in the defense, which after hours of fighting had emerged with yet another German victory. This time, for the soldiers who had been stationed at the ballroom originally with Colonel Krause, taking prisoners was no longer an option.**


	5. Not Really a Chapter

**February 28, 2017**

 **Author's Home**

 **As the author of this story is so caught up with actually playing Battlefield 1 and being inspired by the events that take place for a new chapter, he forgets that he had not put out another chapter in so long and sincerely apologizes. This is told from his point of view, which is clearly obvious because this statement is also from his point of view...**

 **Kind of.**

 _Okay, so now that the date must have thrown someone off or something like that, I just want to say sorry for not really writing as much as I have been playing. I will, however; get right to work, if possible, on writing another chapter of the story once something interesting happens in Battlefield 1. That's a good thing because with the new DLC that is coming out, I may introduce some Russian and French characters as well, and possibly a new Ottoman character for the last few chapters of the book. Okay, before you say anything, that last idea is literally just that… an idea. So, yeah. Until that DLC comes out for Xbox One, the platform I chose for playing Battlefield 1, I'll just be thinking of what to do from here. I mean, you have to admit, it's a pretty fun game. With all that being said, I appreciate the patience and again, sorry for not uploading much. I will see you guys in the next possible chapter and leave a review or comment if you have any questions, which I will answer at the very beginning of the next chapter._


	6. Chapter 5

**August 17th, 1914**

 **St. Quentin Scar Village - Preserved**

 **The squadron moved forwards from the ballroom where they had met Colonel Krause and proceeded to a nearby armored car to move to their next assigned location, St. Quentin Scar, a very rural area not far off from the ballroom. At least with their only prisoner killed in combat, it was much less of a hassle.**

" _It seems like everywhere we go, one of these beautiful places ends up becoming a battlefield, doesn't it?"_ One of the soldiers remarked as their vehicle rode across the grassy plains, heading to the nearby village, his weapon resting on his lap as he detached the bayonet on the barrel. Axel looked over, understanding what the man meant and nodded, a small smirk as he then turned towards the passing occasional tree and large fields.

" _I can understand that. After all, we are soldiers, it just happens to be the others are from another nation that-"_

" _...Wants to annihilate us."_ One of the other snipers cut in, bolting his rifle as he held the weapon by the barrel and stock. The vehicle then slowed to a stop, the soldiers all hopping out of the armored transport and landing on the cobblestone ground of the village. Axel and Adalbert were the first to begin to wander around the small marketplace that had only been recently abandoned. The two began to gather food and drinks for the squadron, returning to them and setting down all the supplies in designated boxes and moving into a small building, at the attic of a building. It was a small area, but all seven of them managed to fit inside, of course with both snipers guarding the only window, the rest rationing the food and distributing it equally.

" _Danke, Axel."_ Adalbert said as he was handed a quarter of a loaf of bread and a small portion of aged, red wine. The soldiers all began eating, all holding back the urge to just devour anything they had, since it had been a while since they had last eaten. The two snipers took shifts on looking out, with one at the ready and the other eating his rations, both of them not letting go of their rifles, just in case of any surprise hostile attacks.

" _You know, if the area around us wasn't so bad, I might even move here."_ One of the soldiers commented, a few others agreeing with him.

" _Well, it's a really tough choice between here and Amiens."_ The other medic said, leaning back against a crate and finishing his wine, setting down his tin cup he used.

" _Personally, I wouldn't really want to live in any of these places."_ Axel suddenly said. " _Think about it, we made it this far, surprisingly enough, and our numbers are decreasing by the thousands every battle."_

" _True, I'm surprised none of us here are dead, yet. Come the next battle, I have a very bad feeling that not all of us will make it."_ The remaining support gunner responded, setting down his large machine gun and sitting down beside it. The others looked down to the floor at the realization there was not a good chance of them making it out of the war alive. Many began to think if it was even worth it, risking their life to expand an empire, and the thought of their efforts going to waste, incredibly depressing for them.

" _In all honesty, I want to die by one of the British, rather than the Americans."_ Adalbert said in the silence of the squad. " _That one we captured, Christopher, he didn't give them that good of a name."_

" _What did you expect from someone like him? He wasn't exactly the most well-mannered."_ Axel responded to the sniper, chuckling a bit, the other soldiers joining him in the small laughing. All the soldiers continued to speak to each other, the environment being nice and calm as they waited for some kind of signal that they needed to advance to the front lines, into the war-torn part of the village. Until then, they stayed mainly in that one, singular building, occasionally stepping outside to check the weather and then just going right back in. After a few hours of waiting, a few of the soldiers began to get tired, one of them being Axel. The squadron all took turns keeping watch, Axel being one of the first to take a nap, followed by the other medic and two other Assault troopers.

" _Hopefully they don't fall asleep too quickly."_ Adalbert commented as he peered out the window at the darkening sky and slowly-rising moon. Reinforcements have not arrived yet, to what they know as of now, but many have a feeling that they will arrive, soon, but just not immediately. Axel began to murmur something in his sleep, rolling over onto his back as he slept, going completely against what Adalbert had just finished saying, however no one seemed to mind. Inside his head, something was going on, possibly a dream, or in most cases, a nightmare, but this time, it was something much more different, he didn't know how to feel about it.

 _ **Axel's subconscious**_

 _ **Approximately 768 years after the war**_

 _ **Unknown Location, Russia**_

 _ **The world seemed to be in complete disarray, buildings had been destroyed, broken down vehicles had littered highways, skeletons scattered around the snow-covered ground. However, everything seemed so much more different, and not just because everything was in ruin. Everything seemed modernized, more high-tech than anything he had seen. Of course, this was just a dream, but a terrifying one for Axel.**_

" _Wha-..Where am I? What is this place?"_ He asked himself, stumbling around the cold, desolate land, the sounds of light gunfire still echoing in the distance along with the occasional explosion. The man wandered around for around a solid minute, looking around his environment in confusion, unarmed, no way to defend himself. Suddenly the sound of clicking, clearly a weapon came from behind him, a metallic barrel pressing against his back as a slightly deep voice began speaking.

" _Don't move and I won't fire. Who are you?"_ The strange man asked, Axel not daring to turn around.

" _Axel Lange… Sir."_ The medic said, still worried the man may just fire and kill him on the spot, but of course, he did not know that this was a dream. The two simply stood there for a second and suddenly the man forced Axel to turn around, and then pressed a handgun against his chest, but not to shoot him, to give it to him. As the German saw the man, his eyes widened at the mere sight of him. The man was just as tall as Axel, only much more armored, his armor not looking anything like Axel's with much more metal plating with very intricate, foreign designs on the metallic armor. It looked like something out of a pure fiction novel, almost as if he were from a distant future, which in fact was the case. From the man's waist dangled what looked like a flag, a symbol of some kind, one that Axel did not recognize. The German looked down at the weapon he was given, a revolver, very large, very intricate designs, similar to that of the mysterious man's armor, only a bit more gold on the weapon.

" _What is.. Why-"_ As Axel began speaking the man was already sprinting off, gesturing for him to follow.

" _We don't have time! You better start hauling ass!"_ He called back, dashing into what looked like a broken down garage. Before the medic could question the armored man, he heard a high-pitched roar behind him, coming from a tunnel not far from his location. Without a second of hesitation, he turned and ran towards the other man, sprinting as fast as he could. Whatever was behind him, he did not want to find out before successfully making it into the garage-like area, being directed into the next room. The armored man then gestured for Axel to continue running, taking a very large machine gun from his back and pointing it towards the door.

" _Go! Move! I'll cover you!"_ As he said the man began to fire at whatever must have been chasing Axel, inhuman screeches of pain coming from directly outside the garage-like structure the other man was in. Clearly whatever was pursuing him was more than just one creature. Axel soon continued into the facility, soon plunging into complete darkness, unable to see anything that was not five feet in front of him. He heard nothing but silence with the occasionally clacking of teeth and popping of what sounded like flesh and bones.

" _Hello? Is anyone there?"_ He called into the darkness, raising the large handgun that he had been given by the strange man as he heard something move. As he squeezed the handle of the weapon, a single, red dot appeared where the sights should be. He did not pay attention to that, however. Axel took two steps before seeing a very thin, bone-like creature, crouched in the corner of the room. He approached it slowly, the weapon raised and ready to fire if needed, lining up the floating red dot with the head of the creature. Suddenly it turned around and stared at him, knowing he was there, but unable to see, due to the lack of eyes it had in it's head. Axel backed up a bit and cocked the hammer of the revolver back, about to pull the trigger when it suddenly dashed over to him, pouncing on the German and letting out a high-pitched screech as it attempted to bite him. The medic held it back by the throat and the head, the creature now trying to go for his wrist instead.

" _I don't know what you are.. Or where you came from, but I will send you back in pieces!"_ Someone called out before tackling the inhuman, seemingly alien creature and jabbing a combat knife into it's neck, prying it out and then stabbing it multiple times in the head. The other figure was barely able to be seen in the darkness by Axel. He instantly rolled back over onto his stomach, standing as he raised the handgun and fired off a single shot, the gunshot echoing and the flash briefly lighting up the room. He was not sure what he hit, or who he had hit.

" _Holy shit.. Could have taken off my head! Watch where you aim that thing!"_ The other human called out, the fading footsteps indicating that he was walking away, muttering something under his breath before vanishing in the darkness. Before Axel could even say anything, he suddenly woke up, back in the Saint Quentin Scar village.

 **August 18th, 1914**

 **Saint Quentin Scar village**

 **. . .**

Axel began to gasp for breath as he had woken up, sitting up immediately as he looked around, slowly calming down as he was still in the attic of the house with the rest of his squadron, panting lightly. Everyone else was asleep, everyone except that one medic who had just woken up from his nightmare.

" _What the- None of that was real? How did- But it felt-"_ He began to stutter to himself as Adalbert, who was currently trying to go to sleep, threw a book at him, the object smacking him in the forehead.

" _Go back to sleep… Don't wake up the others, schwachkopf."_ The sniper said, half-awake as he rolled back onto his side and began to drift into another deep sleep. The medic simply sat there, contemplating what had just happened and then slowly laid back down on his back, soon realizing that no one else was awake to watch in case reinforcements had arrived. With that, he stood up quietly and grabbed his rifle, heading over to the window and then sitting down underneath it, still clearly awake from what he had just experienced.

" _It was just a dream.. Just a dream…"_ He kept repeating to himself quietly, not noticing the small, dark green stain on his shoulder, the one left behind from his encounter with what he thought, and allegedly knew, was a dream.


	7. Chapter 6

**August 18th, 1914**

 **Saint Quentin Scar Village - Trenches**

 **As the sun rose and began another day of the war, the squadron slept soundly until the roaring of tank engines and shouting of soldiers woke them from their slumber. The panic shrunk as they came to realize reinforcements have arrived and were proceeding to the outskirts of the village, where everything was either blackened with ash or completely destroyed.**

The small group finally woke up and gathered their gear, making sure everyone was set before exiting the house to meet up with the additional reinforcements. Axel and Adalbert had been the last to exit, especially Axel as he had woken up fairly early and had not fallen asleep since the time he woke up. Adalbert looked back at the medic, slinging his sniper rifle over his shoulder as he kept walking with him.

" _You look like shit, Lange. Did you really not get enough sleep from that dream of yours?"_ The scout asked, raising an eyebrow as he began to brush a bit of dust off his long coat, the medic deciding to do the same, unable to get the small, dark green stain off his shoulder, but disregarding it after around ten seconds.

" _Yeah.. It was terrifying. Honestly, it felt a bit too real to be a dream, yet it was so horrific, as if all of that would actually happen some day."_ He explained to Adalbert, the man just laughing as he heard this.

" _Wait. Wait. You're telling me your dream was 'predicting' the future? How far out was it?"_ He asked sarcastically, still laughing before Axel smacked him on the back of his head, the sniper looking back with a confused look.

" _What was that f-"_

" _I would rather not talk about it, okay? I don't know how far this… future, was from us. But it certainly was not anywhere near 1914."_ The medic suddenly said, snapping back to the sniper as he marched off to enter the trenches to meet the others. Adalbert shrugged and went a different direction, towards a windmill over to the left of them with a perfect view of the area. Meanwhile, Axel was down in the trench system, getting used to his surroundings and soon entering a small pillbox with a single mounted machine gun opposite the door. He looked around the concrete structure, seeing the various ammunition and medical crates scattered around the ground. Suddenly a knocking came from the doorway of the pillbox causing Axel to swing around to see who it is. Upon recognizing the uniform and insignia on his suit, he instantly shot up into a saluting position.

" _Good afternoon, Captain."_ Axel said quickly, yet still able to be understood as the man simply smiled, chuckling as he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

" _At ease, sergeant. No need for the formalities as of right now."_ The captain then held out his hand to Axel, which the medic then took and shook firmly.

" _A pleasure to meet you, sir. Sergeant Lange, reporting in. I'm one of the guys who Colonel Krause said would be rendezvousing here."_ He explained to the Captain.

" _Yes, I heard of your name. It's a pleasure to me as well. Nice to meet you, Lange. The name's Wolfe. Erwin Wolf, that is."_ He said, looking around the pillbox that the two were currently in.

" _So, nice pillbox we have here, right? This is where we'll hold you and a few other medics, along with a few support gunners to cover your backs. Apart from that, defending this area should be easy with the air support that we.. supposedly have."_ Erwin said to the medic, peering out of one of the slots in the concrete structure. Axel nodded, a smirk on his face as he noticed the various crates of supplies, both medicine and ammunition on the floor near every firing point.

" _Indeed it is, Captain."_ He responded, not really noticing until now how the man was about the exact same height as Axel, his accent being perfectly in between a mix of heavy and light. Another thing that stuck out about him was the relatively thick mustache, similar to that of the man from Monopoly (which would be invented in 1933), and 5 o'clock shadow on his face, certainly a very interesting combination of facial hairs. From what it looked like, judging from the weapon strapped to his back, Erwin was one of the support gunners. The two shared an awkward moment of brief silence before Axel spoke out once more.

" _So, uh… What did you do before this war? As in, former occupation."_

" _Ah, those were the good days. I was a writer. I had a few jobs writing different articles for the newspapers back in Berlin and sometimes in Cologne as well. Of course, the war came along, I got drafted, went through training, and just began rising through the ranks."_ The captain explained to him, looking back towards the doorway as he gestured for the medic to follow, exiting the pillbox, unstrapping the weapon from his back as he walked through the trenches, past the multiple soldiers preparing for the incoming attack.

" _Many of the soldiers here, just like you and I, all had peaceful lives before all this. It's just a shame that we were dragged into this ever since we allied the Austro-Hungarians. Speaking of which, this battalion, at least what remains, along with you and your men, will be shipping off to Monte Grappa after this to assist the Austro-Hungarian forces. From what I've heard, they may need help with a potential defense and then a push into Italy."_ He explained, looking over to Axel to see his reaction to this, to his surprise, Axel didn't seem all to scared, but very confused.

" _Italy? I thought we were allies."_ The medic said, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back a bit.

" _Our espionage agents currently in Italy have reported to the Austro-Hungarians that they are planning to possibly turn to the enemy's side and try to attempt an attack against us."_

" _I can't wait to see what they have planned for us. For all you know it could be false informat-"_ Before Axel could finish his statement, the sound of soldiers shouting could be heard from outside, suddenly an artillery shell landing directly in front of the pillbox, the shockwave sending Axel and Erwin stumbling back and falling onto the ground. Axel quickly recovered helping up Erwin, the captain unstrapping the weapon from his back and mounting it in one of the pillbox windows.

" _I can bet you twenty marks it's the British."_ He said, making sure the safety of his MG15 Storm was turned off as he reloaded. Suddenly, one of the soldiers entered the pillbox for a second, looking over to the captain as around four more soldiers, most being support gunners, entered the concrete fortification as well.

" _Captain, we have confirmed reports of British artillery fire!"_

" _Just as I suspected. Make sure the soldiers are in battle positions! No British military will be taking these trenches!"_ He shouted back, the man nodded and instantly stormed out of the pillbox to spread the word, Axel on the other hand, taking up a section of cover, his Selbstlader 1906 Factory, aiming in the directions of the growing battle cries of the British military. The rest of the German battalion all stood anxiously, waiting for the British to pop out their heads so they can begin firing. Two minutes later, gunfire began to rattle through the air as the British came into view, everyone opening fire with everything they had.

" _Right flank! Watch it!"_

" _Multiple enemy snipers on the left!"_

" _Where is our air support?!"_ The constant yelling of German soldiers along with the British battle cries filled the air, mixed with the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and the occasional screeching of the bombs before they landed near the trenches. Turns out the British had their own air support as well, only to be countered by the numerous German fighters that had just arrived. The two opposing nations continued the fighting, exchanging shots at one another as Erwin and Axel continued to hold the line, the British breaking through and swarming the trenches. As the German soldiers continued their now close-range combat, Axel rushed outside, followed by two other Assault troopers and Erwin. One of the soldiers tossed Axel a weapon, a shotgun, a Model A-10 Hunter. The medic pumped the grip on the shotgun once, loading a shell into the chamber, fixing a bayonet to the weapon as well, just in case. From there, Erwin and Axel began to slowly advance through the trenches, moving seperate directions from each other to cover more ground. Axel slowly shoved his way past a few soldiers, moving to a spot in the trenches already overrun with British and pushing inwards. He took cover around one of the corners as one of them peeked out and fired five shots with an M1911 at the medic.

" _Great.. I doubt I will be able to get past him.. Either I run into him, or I go out into no man's land.."_ He thought for a second before noticing a small glint from the windmill back at the village. Axel squinted as he saw the small light, but as he focused in, it vanished. Suddenly, a tracer round flew over to the left of him and a grunt was heard, followed by a thudding noise. Axel looked around the corner to see the same soldier that fired at him was now dead, face down in the mud of the trench. He then remembered what the small light was, Adalbert's scope. Back at the windmill, the sniper bolted in another round and muttered to himself, looking at Axel through the scope.

" _Move up, move up, I got you covered… Go on."_ As he said this, Axel gave him a nod, the sniper returning it by sending morse code through the reflection of his scope, 'push.' With that, the medic moved out of cover, proceeding down the trenchline, checking right and left as he slowly moved up. With the dogfight overhead, the yelling of soldiers in the other trenches, and the sound of machine guns rattling away, it was hard to hear if someone was close. Suddenly, as Axel turned one of the corners, two British soldiers were already looting some of the ammunition boxes, apparently out of their own. The medic didn't hesitate, firing one shell from the shotgun and pumping it, loading in the second. One soldier lurched to the side, dead, the other quickly recovering and rushing at Axel with a rusty spade. The medic quickly raised up the shotgun to block the overhead attack, countering with a kick to the knee, snapping it, the British soldier letting out a loud scream of pain before Axel fired the second shot into him.

" _Huh.. I'm actually starting to get used to this.. Wait a second, that's a bad thing."_ He said out loud to himself as he pushed through the trenches once more, loading the weapon once more. The medic soon came across an entire squadron, all of which were planning on advancing upwards. Axel had an idea this time, taking a grenade lying on the ground, pulling the pin and chucking it into their position.

" _Gas grenade!"_ One of them yelled, coughing a bit.

" _Masks!"_ Another yelled, everyone putting on a gas mask so they would not end up choking to death. In the process of putting on the mask, Axel rushed in, putting on his own mask as he began to fire off shell after shell from the weapon, successfully killing four of the five soldiers who were there. As he came across the last one, which he managed to sneak up on, Axel pumped the shotgun and aimed it at the back of his head, soon speaking in broken English to the man.

" _Wrong trench."_ As he pulled the trigger, the shotgun made a clicking sound, and both of them froze awkwardly. The next second, the British soldier turned and swung a fist at Axel, the medic easily avoiding it with a duck and then standing quickly, jabbing the bayonet of the weapon into the man's side and pulling it out quickly, pushing him aside as he fell to the ground. Axel began reloading, putting in one shell after another until six were successfully loaded in. With that, he pumped the grip forwards and proceeded on. From then on out, most of the firing came from Adalbert, still covering Axel as he charged through and cleared out all he could.

" _Keep going, medic.."_ The sniper said with a small smile as he fired another shot, killing a british soldier who had been climbing into the trench behind Axel. " _Just keep moving."_ Adalbert wasn't sure if Axel heard him as he seemed to be followed the instructions, just as the sniper said. From overhead, a smaller, yet more fast paced battle was taking place, a dogfight between a few British bombers and attack planes against three german fighters. Inside this chaos was thirty year-old Sergeant Max Luftma, a former engineer for the German Empire, one of the best pilots that the military had recruited. He was currently pursuing a British attack plane, weaving in and out between anti-air fire and other enemy and allied planes.

" _You must think you are so clever, huh? Let me show you how real men do business at this altitude."_ He muttered to himself, soon taking hold of the machine guns which had been mounted to the plane, opening fire in short bursts towards the British attack plane. The Avro 504 British plane still doing it's best to avoid the incoming streams of bullets, only before it's entire left wing was shredded by the incoming fire of Luftma. The aircraft began plummeting, Max not wanting to take any risks and following after, keeping a steady stream of fire before the plane exploded in mid flight. Max's Aviatik B.I practically dominated the sky, shooting down an average of four to five British planes per battle. One of his final targets, one of the bombers currently bombarding the German trenches below, swerving around to target the large plane, coming into combat with the back gunner of the large Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2. Luftma swerved between the burst of rounds coming from the back gun, soon pulling up and soaring above the hostile plane. With that, he began a nose dive towards the bomber, not letting go of the trigger on his machine guns, slowly pulling up as he strafed the entire crew inside, taking out both gunners and the pilot, causing the British plane to plummet into the ground below, taking out a small squadron of British infantry clumped together. Meanwhile, Erwin Wolfe, down in the trenches was mowing through wave after wave of infantry, occasionally moving through the trenches to engage in a knife fight with another British soldier, which normally ended up with Adalbert, still in the windmill back in the village, picking them off.

" _Making this a bit too easy. I'm surprised they haven't noticed a pattern."_ The sniper muttered to himself as he observed Captain Wolfe still moving through the hordes of infantry, firing his weapon in short bursts, seeing as the rounds in his magazine were beginning to run out. In the windmill, Adalbert's sniping position, two british soldiers had breached through the door and began slowly advancing to the top floor. The sniper heard the door being kicked open along with the footsteps and put his plan into action, taking cover behind a crate directly next to the stairway upward. The two British assault troopers rushed in the room.

" _Freeze Jerr-... Huh, he's not here. The guy left his stuff behind as well."_ The first one said.

" _Ah, so free ammunition and medical supplies? Excellent."_ The second responded, both of them approaching the window slowly. Suddenly, Adalbert leapt from his cover, taking a combat knife and jabbing it into the throat of one of his enemies. The other soldier turned around, raising his rifle and firing one shot, barely missing Adalbert as he took the M1911 from the side of the British soldier he had killed and fired a shot into the one who was still alive. The bullet struck the man's shoulder, causing him to drop his rifle, giving the German sniper an advantage. Adalbert dropped the first soldier's corpse and held the new handgun with one hand, advancing quickly to the now-injured man. He fired three shots, all three striking the British man in the chest, but still keeping him alive as Adalbert then pushed him out the window, killing the man on impact with the ground.

" _I would have said that was an impressive attempt, but I was raised never to lie."_ He muttered to himself, picking up his rifle and going back to sniping the various soldiers. Back in Axel's side of the trenches, he had already threw aside the shotgun he was given, picking up his semi-automatic rifle and rushing back over to the pillbox he had originally met Erwin in, having already cleared the East trenches as the other soldiers began to fill back in, covering him as he sprinted back, only instead of moving through the partially-safe dirt walls of the trench, he climbed out and really began to haul ass back to the pillbox, bullets of all kinds whizzed straight past him. He was considering himself lucky that he was not getting hit. As he reached the pillbox, he hopped down into the trench and rushed into the concrete structure, Erwin joining him soon after, both out of breath.

" _So.. How did you do?"_ Erwin asked Axel, panting a bit as he then propped his machine gun up and firing away.

" _It wasn't all the firing I had to do.. It was that one rush across no man's land."_ The medic responded, regaining his posture as he reloaded his rifle and joined Erwin.

" _I'm surprised, medic. You seem to really survive anything that this war tends to throw at you, huh?"_

" _I fear my luck will run out one of these days. Not sure when, but it will happen, I know that much."_ Lange responded as the gunfire soon slowly came to a stop, both of them lowered their weapons as the soon exited the pillbox, looking around at the other soldiers, all were silent for a while. Suddenly, one of them yelled out, standing on the pillbox, binoculars around his neck as he turned to the rest of the troops.

" _They have retreated! This land is ours!"_ The other soldiers all raised their weapons in triumph, cheering and whooping as they all began to celebrate their victory, Axel and Erwin joining them. Adalbert heard the cheering from his windmill and lowered his rifle, soon rushing down the staircase and out of the windmill, sprinting over to the trenches, having quite a long distance to run. That didn't bother him at all. Max, on the other hand, along with the other German pilots soared overhead, many of them pulling out their old film cameras and recording the celebration below as they flew close to the ground. The military celebrated their victory, falling back to the village behind them as they all spoke to each other on how they contributed to the entire fight, regardless if it was technically their fault for letting the British into the trenches. Axel, Adalbert, and Erwin met in the plains between the two areas, the sniper a bit out of breath as he had been running for a good thirty minutes now.

" _Well.. How were.. The front lines?"_ He asked the two of them, panting heavily, but recovering quickly.

" _I've never used a shotgun until this day. Personally, I regret it."_ Axel responded sarcastically as he looked over to Erwin. " _And you? What was it like?"_

" _Quite an adrenaline rush, if you ask me. I'm lugging around this thing all day through there, not to mention firing it, yet still doing a much better job than most of the other soldiers."_

" _And that's why they gave you the position of Captain."_ The medic responded, chuckling a bit as he slung his rifle on his back. Again, he had noticed something he hadn't noticed before about Erwin. The man had taken a weapon from the British and used it against them, carrying two machine guns with him, but then dropping it shortly after Axel looked at it. A Lewis Gun Suppressive, filled to the brim of the magazine with 97 rounds with the small, telescopic scope behind it, almost right on the stock. The three then walked over to the center of the village, where currently all the soldiers were either relaxing, or convincing the others to relax instead of counting the bullets in their rifles or how many people did not make it back. Axel felt sorry for those kind of guys, seeing as they were new to the whole thought of war, normally left dazed and confused after battles, sometimes even during them, most of them shellshocked from the British artillery at the start. Regardless, he chose to ignore it, seeing as other medics were already working on getting them to calm down a bit, which didn't take much. The squadron of three, Erwin, Adalbert, and Axel, took a seat around a burning garbage can, seeing as they were either too lazy to find firewood and stones to make a normal campfire, or they knew this was much quicker. As they relaxed against the heat of the flames, Adalbert decided to speak up.

" _Do you think the British will send reinforcements? That was a small wave of enemies when you really think about it."_

" _Just hope it's more infantry and none of those Mark V's. Honestly, they scare me more than any normal soldier out there."_ Axel responded, polishing the bayonet on his rifle, looking up to the sniper using only his eyes, which wasn't that effective, seeing as his helmet got in the way.

" _If that happens, we have plenty of explosives, along with those guys up there to help us out."_ Erwin said, in addition to Axel's statement. As he pointed up towards the sky, Axel and Adalbert looked up, the medic then smiled and nodded.

" _I agree. Our comrades which have served valiantly, who met their own demise for a greater cause, they can look down and protec-"_

" _Not the spirits, dummkopf! Them!"_ As Adalbert corrected Axel, he pointed upwards, just in time to see the three German fighters soar overhead. The medic realized how he apparently overanalyzed the subject and sighed to himself, Erwin and Adalbert laughing a bit. The squadron of three continued to talk to each other and how the battle went for them, along with previous experiences of other firefights. And for once, Axel felt relaxed, not riled up by the heat of battle, but calm, after only a few days of warfare. The night then finally grew silent as the last remaining soldiers fell asleep and the German air force flew off into the horizon, guided by the moon and the stars back to their airfield, not far from the village.


End file.
